The Firebird
Classical Stories · No. 13 — One glowing feather, a grey wolf, and a prince who cannot stop promising.
- Classical Stories
- 52 min
- Ages 8–13
- 6 chapters
About this audiobook
Someone is stealing the tsar's golden apples, and it is Ivan, the youngest of three princes, who stays awake long enough to see the thief: a bird of living flame. The single feather he catches lights a room like a hundred candles — and lights a hunger in his father that only the whole bird will cure. Ivan's quest costs him his horse in the first mile, to a great grey wolf who then, unaccountably, offers to carry him. If only Ivan could resist touching golden cages and golden bridles, the wolf's plans would work perfectly every time.
Why it's worth a listen
A quest that keeps chaining to the next: fetch the Firebird — no, first the horse with the golden mane — no, first the princess — each theft going wrong in exactly the way the grey wolf warned it would. It is funny, fast, and strange the way only Russian fairy tales are, with a wolf who turns out wiser, kinder, and more patient than any prince deserves.
A question to keep
Why do the best helpers stay loyal to people who keep making mistakes?
Chapters
- The Garden of Golden Apples
- Three Roads and a Grey Wolf
- The Golden Cage and the Golden Bridle
- The Clever Wolf's Magic
- The Water of Life
- A Question to Keep